Stretching and crimping machine



I (No man1.)

A. RyJAMBs] v l STRETCHING AND GRIMPING MACHINE. No. 373,775.r

UNITED STATES Erice.

PATENT ALBERT R. JAMES, OF HAMILTON,.ONTARIO, CANADA, ASSIGNOR TO THE iSEAMLESS SHOE CRIMPING COMPANY, OF FORTLAND, MAINE.

STRETCH-ING AND CRIM'PING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 373,775, dated November22, 1887.

Application led August 4, 1887.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT R. JAMES, of Hamilton, county of Wentworth,Ontario, Canada, have invented an Improvement in Upper Stretching andCrimping Machines, of which the following description, in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on thedrawings representing like parts.

This invention has for its object the production of a machine by whichto properly stretch the upper of a shoe preparatory to applying it to alast to receive a slug. the stretching operation as practiced in myinvention being substantially a crimping operation.

My invention is herein shown in connection with a seamless upper,substantially such as shown in United States patent to Marshall, No.346.055, dated July 20, 1886, the said upper having been preferablypreviously crimped by 4mechanism substantially such as represented inpatent of the United States granted tome, No. 363,521, dated May 24,1887, or by any other similar mechanism.

My improved mechanism herein shown contains a toe, a heel or quarter,and an intermediate standard made movable relatively each to the otherto permit the upper placed thereon and clamped to the toe andintermediate standard to' be stretched. As herein shown, the quarter orheel standard and the intermediate standard are made movable, thequarter or heel standard being under the control of a standard-movingdevice, (shown as a lever,)

which has cooperating with it a locking device to retain the heel orquarter standard in its adjusted position.

My improved machine also contains a Wiper for smoothing the quarter, tobe described.

Instead of the locking device herein shown, I I may use any other usualor well-known locking device, operated either by teeth or by friction.

Figure l, in side elevation, represents my improved machine, the saidfigure showing an upper as stretched and as being smooth at the quarter,the upper being broken out to show part of the clamping-surfaces Withinit. Fig. 5o 2 is aleft-hand end view of the machine shown pass whenputting ou the shoe.

Serial No. 246,112. (No model.)

in Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a section in the line x, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 representsthe intermediate standard and its clamp, with a small portion of thetoe-standard above it, the view being to the rightof the dotted line x',the full lines, 55 Fig. 4, showing the clamp closed upon the upper, thedotted, lines showing the parts when the clamp is not so closed, andFig. 5 is an under side view of the standard-moving device and part ofits locking device removed 6o from the machine.

The base A of the machine has erected upon it a toe-standard, B, which,as herein shown, is supposed to be fixed to the said base. the saidstandard having preferably a horizon- G5 tally-extended arm,B,to supportthe vamp of the upper from its toe to the central slit or openingtherein, through which the-foot is to The heel or quarter standard C, asIshall call it, as well 7o as the intermediate standard, D, have, asherein, like feet, as C', preferably of dovetailed shape incross-section, which t and slide in correspondingly-shaped guideways ofthe base A. The quarter-standard G has as its moving device alever,E,having its fulcrum at E', the said lever being extended througha slot or opening in the said quarter-standard and being provided with asecondary lever, c, upon which are pivoted loosely two clamp- 8oing-blocks,a5 a6,having, respectively, concavedand conveXed faces to fitagainst a curved ledge, as a', erected upon the base A, the saidsecondary lever being normally acted upon by a spring, adi, whichretains the clamping-blocks in position to bite the rest-ledge. Thehandle of the secondary lever is prolonged, so as to be grasped by theoperator at the same time that he grasps the moving device E,thegrasping of the moving device E effecting the turn- 9o ing of thesecondary lever in the direction to release the clamps, so that themoving device may be moved without interference; but as soon as thehandle is released the clamps become eiiective to lock the moving devicein position. The quarter-standard C has extended backwar'dly fromit anarm, C, slotted, as shown at c, for the reception of a bolt, as 2,

which bolt is also extended through depending ears e of a carriage orslide-block,e, upon 10o which is pivoted by a pin, e2, two wipers, e3,each wiper having attached to it a handle, e4, the said wipers being sopivoted that downward pressure upon the handles e* will enable theoperator to cause the inturncd lower edges of the wipers (see Fig. 3) toact with more or less force against the upper (herein marked u) tosmooth or wipe the same down in the direction ofthe dotted line mi,downward movement of the wipers removing from the upper any wrinkleswhich may be formed therein and fitting the quarter of thc upper closeto the quartcrstandard.

Each wiper has a pin or stud, as l, to which is connected a spiral orother suitable spring, 5, the opposite end of each of the said springsbeing attached to a pin or stud, 7, the said pins being extended fromopposite sides of a block, S, through slots 10 in the wipers, the

block rising and falling with the wipers and being held by the springsagainst the quarter of the upper immediately at the rear edge of thequarter-standard G. Vhen the operator starts to move the quarterstandardG away from the toe-standard B, the stud 2 will preferably stand in theleft-hand end of the slot e, andin such condition the wipers will bemoved in unison with the standard C. As soon, however, as the standard Chas been pulled away from the standard B sufiieiently to stretch theupper as much as desired, then the standard C is locked, and theoperator, by the handles c4, pushes forward the wipers until their frontends come against the quarter of the up'- per near the upper portionthereof, and there after, as the operator pushes the wipers forward,holding each of them pressed rmly against the quarter of the upper atone side of the standard C, he at the same time pushes the wipersdownward until they pass from the lower edge of the upper. Theintermediate standard, D, has pivoted upon it at d (see Fig. 4) twojaws, d, the upper ends of which will in practice be serrated to engagethe lower edge of vamp and clamp it against opposite sides oftheintcrmediate standard, D, the said standard at its opposite sidesinline with the upper ends of the jaws being also preferably suitablyroughened or toothed to co-operate with the jaws, in order that thelower edge of the vamp may be very rmlyheld while the Vamp is beingstretched by the movement of the standard C. The toe of the upper,folded about the top of the toe-standard B, is also toothed orcorrugated, as at b, and the toe of the upper is embraced between likejaws b', pivoted together at b2, (see Fig. 2,) the said jaws serving asa clamp to firmly clamp the toe of the upper to the toe-standard B.

One of thejaws d has screwed or otherwise connected to it one end of arod or stud, d, and the said stud, extended through a hole in thestandard D and through the otherjaw, b', as shown in Fig. 4, has pivotedupon it by a pivot, as d*, (shown by dotted lines, Fig. 4,) a lever, d5,it having a cam-shaped head, or a head shaped substantially as the headb" ot' the lever b5, pivoted at b4 on a stud, as b3, extended looselythrough one of the jaws b and connected positively to the other jaw. Thestud d", as well as the stud b3, between the jaws d' and b aresurrounded by suitable spiral springs, which act normally to keep thejaws of the said clamps opened; but by turning the cam-headed levers dior l the said jaws may be made to approach each other and clamp theupper laid over through the standard D or B, the clamps or jawsremaining closed as long as desired. As the standard C in the slot inthe seamless folded upper is moved away from the standard B, it acts atfirst upon the leather at the end of the slot farthest from theextension B. and by the time the standard C reaches the position Fig. lthe portion of the leather adjacent to the slit has been stretchedsufliciently to enable the matcrial of the upper between the outer endof the slit and the rear end of the seamless blank to lie close to theouter edge of the standard C, the latter edge serving to vshape the rearend of the seamless vamp'to constitute a seamless counter. As theseamless upper, held at its toe by the clamps b', is being elongated, asdescribed, the extension b and clamps d act to prevent the contractionof the vamp of the upper in width, thus compelling the standard C in itsmovement to take all the leather required for its movement from theseamless blank-between the clamp d and the end ofthe blank. During thisstretching operation the standard D sometimes has imparted to it aslight horizontal movement. This is provided for by mounting the foot ofthe standard D loosely in guideways of the base A.

I do not desire to limit my invention to stretching sitnply uppers whichare seamless.

I claim l. The combination, with the toe-standard and clamp to hold thetoe of an upper, of a heel or quarter standard extended through thefoot-receiving opening of the upper and with means for moving one of thesaid standards with relation to the other to stretch the said upperbetween its heel and toe covering portions, substantially as described.

2. The toe-standard, a clamp to clamp and hold the toe of the upper, aquarter-standard to enter the foot-receiving opening of the upper, andan intermediate standard and clamp to hold thejaws ofthe upper betweenthe toe and heel covering portions therefor, and with means to changethe relative positions of the said parts to effect the stretching of theupper in the direction of its length and also of its width, as setforth.

3. The toe-standard and the quarter-standard, combined with thestandard-moving device and locking device therefor, substantially asdescribed.

4. The toe-standard, its holding-clamp, and the quarter-standard,combined with a wiper to wipe the stretched quarter upon and closelyagainst the quarter-standard, substantially as described.

IOO

IIO

IIS

5. The, quarter -standard and a guide, C2, combined with a pair ofwipers, substantially asdescribed, adapted to be pushed forward over anddown upon the quarter from its upper toward its lower edge, for thepurposes set forth.

6. That improvement in the art or method of stretching and crimping aseamless slotted blank for theproduotion ofa shoe-upper which consistsin folding the upper longitudinally, holding the vamp at the toe andback from the toe, then stretching the seamless vamp by a direct pullapplied Within the slit at the top of the heel portion of the seamlessupper held at its toe, and pulling the said blank until the material inthe line of the slit is stretched in excess of the outer edge of theblank sufficiently to bring the portion of the seamless vamp between theouter end ofthe slot therein and the outer end of the bla-nk in proper2o l position to serve as the counter for the upper, all substantiallyas shown and described.

In testimony whereof Ihave signed my name to this speoiiieation in thepresence of two subserihing Witnesses.

ALBERT R. JAMES.

Witnesses:

G. W.GREGORY, C. M. GONE.

